Pockets Of Rebellion Emerge Here, There

Government Inc.: You Move In, They Cash In. - Chapter 4 - They the People

October 16, 2000|By Jim Leusner of The Sentinel Staff

It was the 226th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. Cries of taxation without representation rang out as angry residents complained last December about "double-dipping" by developers and taxes on top of taxes.

But this wasn't Boston Harbor; it was a meeting room at a community college in Daytona Beach. And their enemy wasn't King George, but the handpicked supervisors of an obscure government called the Indigo Community Development District.

That scene has played out with varying degrees of intensity over the past decade at development districts across Florida. The common elements: New homeowners stunned by unexpected charges, smothered by a layer of near-invisible government they don't understand, and powerless to do anything about it until the developer gives up control.

But they have fought their battles in isolated pockets, unaware that residents of districts in faraway counties are fighting similar battles. On the other side are well-heeled developers guided by the small corps of expert consultants who have seen it all and know it all because they run it all -- or almost all of the 116 such districts in Florida.

"I wish there was a CDD support group,'' said Joe Dinelli, who lives in the Eastlake Oaks district in Pinellas County. "It's ludicrous to think those people have our interests in mind."

Jan Grossman said he felt outgunned when he complained about what he said was a hidden assessment on his Broward County home to the district board and manager Gary Moyer in the early 1990s.

"The questions were answered as briefly as possible," Grossman said. "He had a definite holier-than-thou attitude. The definite feeling was that I was a troublemaker. And I was. I wanted to know why I was paying an extra grand for drainage."

Moyer contends he is neither pro-developer nor pro-resident and cites his company's long track record of servicing districts with relatively few problems or complaints.

"There's always going to be certain individuals that are not going to be satisfied," Moyer said. "They show up and they tell the boards. I think districts are remarkably responsive to citizens' concerns."

The Villages retirement community northwest of Orlando even offers a class to teach new homeowners how the CDD government works.

And many CDD residents say they are happy having a developer and little government watching their communities.

"I would not know how you could do it better," said Frank Scruby, 74, a semi-retired lawyer who lives in the Crossings at Fleming Island CDD southwest of Jacksonville. "We just love it."

But Grossman's experience is also common, minutes from district meetings show. And if your developer-controlled district doesn't fix your problem, there's no appealing to city hall, the county commission or a state agency. The only place to go is court.

Some, like Grossman, have sued and received settlements. Others got settlements just by threatening legal action.

A SETTLEMENT WITHOUT FAULT

At Indigo Lakes district in Daytona Beach, encompassing the LPGA International community, retired couple Suzanne and Joe Levey said they were never told about a $344 annual assessment they were required to pay for newly built roads, landscaping, street lights and sewer systems. Those charges came on top of $600 a year for CDD maintenance and homeowners association fees. And there was talk of more bonds and more assessments in the future.

District officials said residents were told. They blamed the builder, who denied any wrongdoing. But without acknowledging fault, the developer agreed in July to pay 50 residents about $3,000 each, according to a confidential agreement obtained by the Sentinel. The district, meanwhile, agreed not to impose any new construction assessments until residents take control of the district. Indigo developers would not comment.

"We're very happy,'' Levey said last month. "And they're doing a great job. We didn't want to go to court and drag it out. We want the development to be successful, and we don't want any bad feelings."

Developers and district officials often dismiss complainers as troublemakers or kooks who can't be satisfied.

But familiar patterns emerged in a review of meetings minutes from dozens of districts, interviews with residents and visits by a reporter to 75 districts: Sales people reluctant to disclose details about the district and its fees. Uninformed home buyers. Confrontations with district boards.

It has happened time and again. Falcon Trace in Orange County. Julington Creek Plantation in St. Johns County. Lely in Collier County. Indigo in Volusia County. Turtle Run in Broward County.